3 Tips for Making a New Fence Part of Your Landscape

If you want an excellent practical upgrade that can add value to your home, then few options are as cost-effective as fencing. While fencing for privacy is a popular option, many types of fencing are available, and you have many uses for these outdoor structures throughout your yard. Choosing the best fencing for your needs will help it better fit your home's existing aesthetic.

You can go one step farther, however. Considering your existing landscape as you choose your fence allows you to integrate your fence with your landscape and make it an essential element of your home's curb appeal. These three tips will help you blend your fence into your yard and prove that these functional structures can be beautiful as well. 

1. Understand How Hardscape Elements Fit Into Your Yard

With landscaping, you have two critical elements to consider: softscape and hardscape. Softscape includes the living, breathing parts of your yard, from the trees to garden beds. While these features take center stage for many people, your home's landscape also includes hardscaping features. These elements include your paths, patios, fences, and anything else solid and static.

Installing a fence means changing your home's hardscaping, which can impact the appearance of the rest of your yard. Before selecting an option, decide if you intend your fence to become a central feature of your yard or something that you'd prefer to fade into the background. In most cases, you should be able to find a fence using almost any material that will fit your goals.

You can integrate nearly any type of fence into your existing landscape with a bit of effort and planning. Estate or paddock tend to be popular options for homeowners who desire a more subtle approach, but solid privacy fences don't need to stick out like a sore thumb. You can also purchase most of these styles in aluminum or PVC, allowing you to get a fence that fits your style and your budget.

2. Choose Appropriate Softscaping Elements

A bare fence can be beautiful, but it might not be the right approach for every homeowner. If you want to blend your fence into your landscape, then the plants you choose to place around it can help. You can layer your landscaping elements so that your new fence becomes the background and bushes or other plants nearby form the mid-ground and foreground.

Installing taller plants closer to the fence helps create a natural gradient that can reduce its apparent height. Flowerbeds or ground cover farther away add extra points of interest and draw the eye downward. The right plants can also help increase privacy by blocking the view from neighboring plots even if you choose a fencing option that's not entirely opaque.

Aluminum and PVC fences work incredibly well for this purpose since they are highly resistant to moisture. Adding many plants near your fence line or using mulch for flower beds can mean trapping moisture nearby, but choosing suitable fencing materials means you won't need to worry about rust or rot.

3. Mix and Match Styles

You don't need to use a single style of fencing throughout your yard. For example, you may want a large perimeter fence to maintain privacy, but smaller fences near your pool or garden can work well, too. Using different styles around your yard allows you to select the most appropriate options for your needs, making it easier to blend your new fencing with existing elements of your landscape.

Allied Fence of Tampa Bay offers a wide range of fencing options suitable for nearly every budget and style. We can help you select a fence that can provide security and privacy while also becoming a seamless part of your landscape. Contact us today to begin planning this exciting upgrade for your home.